The Buffalo Bills put a bit more emphasis on their rushing attack last week, running the players through an extra drill during practice.
It wasn’t even at full speed.
But Devin Singletary said it helped immensely.
“It was kind of like half-speed,” Singletary said. “But seeing the guys get to their landmark, that helps us with our landmark, and just kind of helps the offensive line and the running backs get a feel for each other, and it showed today.”
The Bills amassed 172 rushing yards on 30 carries, the team's second-most yards on the ground this season, in a 27-17 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Bills Stadium.
Singletary led the way with 82 yards on 11 carries, an average of 7.5 yards per rush, but he also lost a fumble during a fourth-quarter stretch when the Bills turned the ball over three times in seven plays.
Buffalo allowed just three points in the fourth quarter, despite its offense committing three turnovers in a span of seven plays.
Rookie Zack Moss added 59 yards on nine carries, Josh Allen had 32 yards on nine carries and Isaiah McKenzie lost one yard on his lone touch.
“Zack and ‘Motor’ carried the ball extremely well,” Allen said, referring to Singletary by his nickname. “They both ran hard. When my number’s called, you've got to make some plays, too. But our guys did a good job of blocking up front.”
Dion Dawkins said the offensive line had a blast.
“As an O-lineman,” Dawkins said, “run game is always more fun than pass blocking. You know, we've just got to stay consistent and control what we can.”
Cole Beasley said the balance between the running game and passing game – Allen completed 18 of 24 passes for 157 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and Beasley threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis on a trick play – was born from necessity.
“We had to do something to slow them down,” Beasley said. “The pass rush was getting to us early. That affected how we called the game a little bit. We had to get them downhill and mix it up on them a little bit more so they couldn’t just pin their ears back and fly at the quarterback. That definitely helped us today and the line did a good job in that regard.”
The Bills produced just 107 rushing yards in the last two games combined, including 34 in a victory against Seattle and 73 in a loss to Arizona.
The haunting memory of what happened two weeks ago in Arizona apparently wasn't enough to scare the Buffalo Bills into doing a better job of closing out games, writes Vic Carucci.
They had a season-high 190 rushing yards in a 24-21 victory against the Patriots on Nov. 1.
Singletary set a season high that day, racking up 86 yards on 14 carries.
He entered the Chargers game with just 401 yards and a touchdown on 99 carries, disappointing production for the 2019 third-round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic.
Singletary had 775 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 151 carries last season.
“We knew what we could do in the run game,” Singletary said. “We feel like we can do even better. But we’re going to keep taking it day by day. But I feel like (this performance) helps (my confidence) a lot.”
The running game played a critical role in the Bills’ victory against the Chargers, contributing heavily on the fourth-quarter drive that began on their own 35-yard line with 5:17 to play and ended with a two-score lead.
After disappointing results most of the season, the rushing attack found the type of performance it has been searching for, writes Jay Skurski.
Moss ran for 31 yards on first down, all the way to the Chargers' 34, but he was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, backing up the Bills near midfield.
Singletary then rushed for 24 yards for a first down at the 25.
On third-and-9, Allen ran 12 yards around left end to the Chargers' 12, but an offensive holding call wiped out the play.
Moments later, Tyler Bass hit a 43-yard field goal to give the Bills a 27-17 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to play.
“I think we ran the ball well,” Singletary said. “Thank God we took a step forward as far as in the run game. I think it was pretty balanced.”
Cole Beasley’s trick-play throw to Gabriel Davis went for a 20-yard touchdown in the Buffalo Bills’ 27-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
